Theodoros Kantakuzenos
Theodoros Kantakuzenos ( Middle Greek Θεόδωρος ὁ Καντακουζηνός ; † 1184 in Nikaia ) was a Byzantine rebel against Emperor Andronikos I.
Life
Theodoros Kantakuzenos was an early member of the Kantakuzenos family , which provided several emperors and despots in the 14th century . His parents are not known; John Kantakuzenos, who was blinded by Andronikos I in 1183 and, after his overthrow in the autumn of 1185, was elevated to emperor by Isaac II, was possibly his brother.
In the spring of 1182 eliminated Andronicus Comnenus in Constantinople Opel the Latins friendly regency of the widow of Emperor Manuel I , Maria of Antioch , and the Protosebastos Alexius Comnenus , and took even the government. In the following year he had the young heir to the throne and nominal emperor Alexios II killed and now also de iure rose to become sole ruler.
Andronikos' violent repression against the leading aristocratic families provoked a series of uprisings by high-ranking military officials who had made a career under Manuel I. They also included Theodoros Kantakuzenos, who, after the failed rebellions of Johannes Komnenos Batatzes and Andronikos Lampardas, together with Isaak Angelos in Nikaia with the support of Turkish auxiliaries, concentrated the resistance against the tyrannical ruler, while Isaak's brother Theodoros Angelos held the neighboring Prusa .
In the spring of 1184 Andronikos I moved with a large force against the Bithynian rebel strongholds. First he opened a siege of several weeks against Nikaia , during which, among other things, Isaac's elderly mother was abused as a living target in order to intimidate the rebels. The contemporary historian Niketas Choniates praised Theodoros Kantakuzenos as the “soul of the city's defense”, while Isaac allegedly contented himself with the role of the spectator.
In an attempt to break the siege by a sortie , Theodoros Kantakuzenos fell in battle. Isaac Angelos then surrendered and was pardoned by Andronikos I, while numerous residents of the city were massacred. Subsequently, the emperor also conquered Prusa; the rebel leader Theodoros Angelos was blinded as punishment. Andronikos I celebrated his triumph in the civil war with pompous circus games in the capital .
swell
- Michael Choniates 219–224 (ed. Spyridon Lambros )
- Niketas Choniates 270; 281; 284–286 (ed. Jan-Louis van Dieten, CFHB Vol. 11, 1975)
- Eustathios of Thessalonike 54–56
- Michael the Syrian 395–396 (ed. Jean-Baptiste Chabot)
- Theodoros Skutariotes 337–341 (ed. Konstantin Sathas , BGMAE vol. 7, 1892, reprint 1972)
literature
- Jean-Claude Cheynet: Pouvoir et contestations à Byzance (963-1210) (= Publications de la Sorbonne. Series Byzantina Sorbonensia. Vol. 9). Reimpression. Publications de la Sorbonne Center de Recherches d'Histoire et de Civilization Byzantines, Paris 1996, ISBN 2-85944-168-5 , p. 115 No. 157.
- Jan-Louis van Dieten: Niketas Choniates. (= Supplementa Byzantina . Vol. 2). Walter de Gruyter, Berlin 1971, ISBN 978-3-11-002290-2 , pp. 67, 72-73, 79.
- Donald M. Nicol : The Byzantine family of Kantakouzenos (Cantacuzenus) approx. 1100-1460: a genealogical and prosopographical study. (= Dumbarton Oaks Studies . Vol. 11) Dumbarton Oaks Center for Byzantine Studies, Washington DC 1968, p. 7 No. 5.
Web links
Remarks
- ↑ Niketas Choniates 284, 45/7
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Theodoros Kantakuzenos |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Θεόδωρος ὁ Καντακουζηνός (Middle Greek) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Byzantine rebel against Emperor Andronikos I. |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 12th Century |
| DATE OF DEATH | 1184 |
| Place of death | Nikaia |